WASHINGTON As the list of highly successful programs President Bush discarded in his budget came to the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) wais mounting a fight to protect them, including the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program that has put hundreds of police officers on the street in Rhode Island and more than a hundred-thousand officers on the street nationwide. The United States Senate approved an amendment sponsored by Reed and Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) that restored the funding that the President cut. The Biden-Reed amendment restores $1 billion in funding to the Department of Justice for the COPS program. President Bushs budget proposal cut the program to $118 million with no funding allocated to hiring officers. In FY 2005, COPS was funded at $378 million, with only $10 million for to hiring officers. As recently as FY 2002, COPS received $739 million with $395 million for the hiring program. The COPS program has continually proven to be a success in Rhode Island and communities throughout America. It is imperative that we continue to support the programs that provide our local police departments the resources they need to keep our neighborhoods safe, Reed said. I am grateful for the work that these brave men and women do to protect communities across Rhode Island and America and I cannot understand why the President would let law enforcement slip thorough the cracks. There are currently 3,793 pending applications from state and local agencies that will require nearly $800 million to fill. Because of last years limited budget, the COPS office will not be soliciting applications in 2005.The funding provided by this amendment will allow the COPS office to fund all pending applications and to meet the new demands. According to a 2003 survey of the largest 44 metropolitan police agencies, 27 face officer shortages.Last week, the President of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Chief Joseph G. Estey, issued a message stating: Instead of building on this tremendous progress, the budget would cut funding for vital assistance programs and would weaken our ability to protect our communities from crime and terrorism.Rhode Island has received over $29 million to add 395 officers through the COPS program since 1994. Since 1995, COPS has funded the hiring of more than 118,000 community policing officers through grants that have been awarded to more than 12,000 of the nations estimated 18,000 state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies. The program was created by Congress as part of the 1994 Crime Bill in an effort to help cities put more police officers onto the streets. Reed is a former member of the House Judiciary Committee which wrote the bill. In the 106th Congress, a Republican provision to the Commerce, Justice, State and the Judiciary Appropriations bill would have ended the COPS program in FY2000. Senator Reed co-sponsored an amendment to the bill which increased funding by $325 million to the program.In addition to funding law enforcement positions, COPS has been the catalyst for innovations in community policing and the broad implementation of this effective law enforcement strategy. Statistics indicate that 64 percent of the nations law enforcement agencies, serving 86 percent of the U.S. population engage in community policing.COPS grants are generally made for up to 75 percent of the total salary and benefits of each officer over a three year period, up to $75,000.Many RI communities have received COPS funding. Since 2002, Jamestown, Foster, North Smithfield, South Kingston, Johnston, Westerly, Richmond, Charlestown, Lincoln, Hopkinton, Central Falls, Coventry, East Providence, Richmond, Smithfield, North Providence and West Greenwich have received funding form the hiring program. In 2003, the Pawtucket and Providence Police Departments received $321,000 to help pay for local law enforcement expenses resulting from increased overtime budgets due to homeland security patrols and services.